Bambi 75/250 Problem

by Nick Claydon
(Colchester , Essex , UK)

HiI have been given a Bambi 75/250 compressor - it doesnt have an on/off switch fitted so i plugged it in and it started to hum.

It has been standing for a while so i took off the top cover and checked the centre shaft for rotation by hand - it was quite stiff to move and i could only move it about half a turn before shaft locked - rotated it with grips.

I put it back together and plugged it in again and it started to run and build pressure - It cut out at about 10-11 bar and smoke came out of the inlet air filter also as i bled off the air by opening the tap the pressure dropped but the compressor didnt automatically restart.

once all the air had escaped i plugged the unit back in again and it started up again and built pressure but same thing happened again smoke from inlet and wouldnt automatically restart when pressure dropped.

the oil level is on its correct level mark.any ideas why it doesnt restart and more importantly why i get smoke from the air filter when it cuts out at full pressure ?thanksNick_______________________Well Nick, you may have been given a compressor full of problems.

If the compressor had been allowed to run dry, without oil, that may account for the partial seizing. Or, if it had been run so long that it exceeded the duty cycle and badly over heated the motor and pump.

Without seeing the compressor it is hard to positively diagnose, but I suspect bad piston wear, having been abused in over use, failed intake valve, and if the smoke isn't from something burning (I can't smell it from here) then oil odour is bypassing the piston seals and leaking out a warped / damaged intake valve.